Meet Our Skoolie ( Converted School Bus) Base Camp

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 Meet Our skoolie(converted school bus) that we call Base Camp.

Base Camp Kaioutside Skoolie camping. Tates Hell State park


 We bought Base camp in November 2021, after a delightful summer In Cliff Island, Maine. After spending our summer and fall in Maine we were looking for an adventure for our winter and spring. After a boat delivery fell through we were on the lookout for a short school bus. My Mom and dad spent hours on online marketplaces, and calling school districts trying to find a bus for sale. It was the beginning of November and the first snows had come to the Island when my dad found out about a blind bid at a school district in southern Maine. My dad took the ferry boat into Portland to cast our blind bid for a Thomas Minotaur school bus(short school bus)

Base Camp Camping. Skoolie travel family in Texas Mexico border Rio Grande


It turns out we were the only bidders so we got our bus! “We could have gotten it for a dollar,'' Zevy said. 


 My dad and I began work on triple bunk beds, a loft bed, and a bathroom. Using supplies pallet wood, and supplies from Lowe’s, and Home Depot. We also took out all but three of the bus seats, and the 350 pound wheelchair lift. 


We love camping, and being outdoors. so we didn’t want To make it into an RV, or tiny home. We all agreed we wanted to make a base camp, to take on our adventures, and that’s where our name for the bus came from. BaseCamp!


Our good friend printed a sticker that read base camp and we put it over the sign that read school bus. The sticker stuck and so did the name.


We didn’t find warm enough weather to paint until we got to South Carolina where we were staying with our grandparents. We chose a light blue green color to paint our bus and my dad painted our bus in our grandparents home owners association. It looked nice and tropical when we finished. But there’s one problem with such a light color and that’s that whenever my brothers and I climb on the bus like we love doing our feet put black smudges on the paint job. 

Painting our skoolie Base Camp Charleston south carolina
Base Camp Before paint job in South Carolina.



We knew we wanted a roof rack to store the propane tank and solar panels we planned on getting and we knew just the friends to help us with the job. We stayed with our friends in Jacksonville while they helped us construct a roof deck from  Lowes lumber. It took a week to finish the roof rack and secure our two solar panels and propane tank to the top. They also worked on construction of a pull out table to hold a propane stove we had gotten in Virginia.


We have taken our Bus Basecamp from Maine to Mexico, Our base camp isn’t an RV or a tiny home buts it’s a mighty good adventure vehicle


The only downside to traveling in Basecamp is that we only get ten miles a gallon. So we spend a lot more on gas than our Minivan. 


Check our Youtube video about BaseCamp:https://youtube.com/@RewildFamily 


By Kai Holloway

Location: Big Bend National Park, Big Bend National Park, TX, USA

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